It’s been a while since we’ve published an edition of Better Know a Reject, our sometimes series that focuses on the personalities behind the wonderful content you read every day here on FSR, but that doesn’t mean we can’t just start up again. And as we begin a new year and get ready to celebrate the sixth birthday of this site, we can’t help but bring it all back around to the people who make it all go ’round. Our hope is to do one or two of these every month, just a little something to help you connect with the brilliant minds who entertain and enlighten you with their unending passion for the world of film.

This time around we’re Q’ing and A’ing with Reel Sex columnist Gwen Reyes, who just celebrated her one year anniversary of writing for FSR on February 9th. My, how time flies when you’re having fun and talking about sexy things. Gwen became known to us through her work on the now defunct Gordon and the Whale and her personally owned site Reel Vixen, the latter of which continues to deliver amazing conversations with a female perspective from not just Ms. Reyes, but other names you’ll recognize from the pages of FSR. She’s multi-talented, incredibly bright and a key component to the success of this very site (apparently you guys like reading about sex — who knew!). So cuddle up and lets have some pillow talk with our resident sexpert.

Why did you want to write for Film School Rejects, as opposed to some other, more respectable publication?

Other than having the opportunity to surround myself with writers far more talented and loquacious than me, I really wanted the chance to write about how much I like watching the dirty movies many people consider art. The quirk, attention to detail, and love of films on FSR astounds me daily, and I have made it a goal to break bread and wine bottles with each Reject who’ll have me.

What is your first movie memory?

It’s a toss-up between the introduction of the creepy butterfly in The Last Unicorn and an amputation scene in Glory. My parents didn’t trust babysitters, so they often took my brother and me to a late movie, slip me some Benadryl, and it was night-night for Gwen. Unfortunately, I had this terribly annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the most random moments, including a horrific scene in a movie I have yet to see the whole way through. That might also explain my pension for the little pink allergy pill and discomfort around Civil War re-enactors.

What unique qualities will readers of Film School Rejects find in your writing? What do you bring to the table?

I think my most unique quality is coming up with different cutesy alternative phrases for vagina (lady pocket, lady bits, tenders) and sex (sexy sex time, grind it out, startin’ fires). Come to think of it, I guess I should work on some for man meat, huh? Don’t want the men to feel underrepresented.

I also like really dirty jokes, but I’m terrible at writing them.

If you had to defend yourself, would you rather have Freddy’s claws, Bond’s pistol, or Rosebud the sled?

While Freddy’s claws and Bond’s pistol would ensure I’d never have to touch the person to defend myself, one only works in nightmares and the other I’d have to drink a lot of vodka to operate properly (I mean, okay, yes that really isn’t a problem for me). I’d chose Rosebud because that guarantees I lived the life I’ve set out for myself—become a reclusive, eccentric billionaire unable to connect to any living person. Owning Rosebud also means I could come back to life, after nearly dying of old age, due to the new organs I purchased with my billions, and once again proving that money is the most important tool in warfare—at least that’s what the government has been saying during tax time for years. ROOOOSSSEEEEE BUD

If you were forced to choose only one movie to recommend to everyone you ever meet for the rest of your life, what movie would that be, and why?

Wow, that’s a lot of pressure. I mean, in essence I’m shaping young minds with whatever I suggest. (I may or may not think that highly of my own opinion). There are so many great movies that should be mandatory in anyone’s personal film growth, but then there are some really terrible movies people need to watch to know life is in fact not that fucked up. Mental stimulation versus guilty pleasure—which angle do I take?

Oh alright, I’m not curing cancer here. I’m a writer for a reason, since I barely passed my science classes. I’d go with Love, Actually. It is not only full of well written, compelling characters, including a chubby girl winning the heart of the English Prime Minister (what could be a better fantasy??) it also serves as my quintessential Christmas movie. Just like the internet, I don’t remember life before Love, Actually but I sure as hell cannot live without it now.

What is your number one passion outside the world of movies?

When I’m not watching movies, writing about movies, or falling asleep old-lady style during movies, I find myself studying the impressive display of beards around me. Maybe it’s because I can’t grow one, or maybe it’s because I delight so much in the acrobatics of a well planned out facial muff, but I love beard spotting. They never go out of fashion, it’s an automatic identifier of a mountain man, and if grown by the right guy, I can keep my lipstick and keys in there.

What do you love about movies?

I love escaping into worlds that are beyond me, full of tall romantic men, heists that ALWAYS end with the criminals getting away with millions, jokes that never fall flat, sexy Dodge Chargers, and the incredible discovery of gravity technology on space ships. Movies celebrate the creative and remain a lasting art form that I hope to share with my future children fathered by Gerard Butler and Jon Hamm.

Check out our previous installments of Better Know a Reject:

• Nathan Adams

Over the years — going on six as of next week, if you can believe that — Film School Rejects has attempted to provide many great services to our expansive international readership. We’ve brought you movie news, as many a movie blog does. We bring you some of the most comprehensive weekly review coverage around. We deliver film festival notes that rival much of what you’d see from any other independent outlet, assuming we actually make it to the festival. We’ve even handed out prizes, performed public service announcements and once or twice we’ve even handed out some FSR pins and t-shirts. We want you to be clothed, feel rewarded and be informed. Today we are taking it one step further… into your love life.

Fact: We can help you find a movie date. No, really.

We’re taking on a new quest — to get you all a date. Why? Because movie nerds need love, too. And because we’ve found a great partner in the folks over at HowAboutWe, a dating service that is the exact opposite of every other online dating service. It’s not lame. So in keeping with this month’s focus on love, and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we’ve launched FSR Dating, a site powered by HowAboutWe that will allow you to find a movie date. All you do is post an idea for a date and interested parties will click “I’m intrigued.” By focusing on the date rather than a bunch of silly personality questions, you can get past the back-and-forth of online dating and get to the part that matters: actually dating. Who knows, if we can get enough movie lovers to sign up, we may even someday have an FSR match that ends up getting married. All we ask is that you invite us. We’ll live-tweet it and promise to keep Robert Fure away from the spiked punch bowl (though we can’t promise that we won’t be the ones spiking the punch bowl — also, if you have a punch bowl at your wedding, you rule.)

Check out our FSR Dating site and find a movie date. We’re reasonably sure you’ll find it to be simple, sort of neat and perhaps even useful. Because if your ideal date is to go eat a 3lb hamburger while sitting through a Troma mini-marathon, don’t you deserve to find someone who wants to do that, too?

Fact: We are not kidding. This sounds silly, but it could work.

We can back up the previous fact with data collected by many intern hours logged testing out the HowAboutWe system. Only one of the interns went missing after scheduling a date, but we’re pretty sure they simply quit out of pure happiness with their match. Because when you find love, you don’t need a job. Right?

Seriously, it’s worth a shot. What have you got to lose?

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie and entertainment news column that brings you all the stuff you should be reading that hasn’t already been published on Film School Rejects. We admit that we’re honored to be an inspiration to every person, writer and sentient being mentioned in the links below, and would like to pay them back with a link. Also, it’s a column whose author is going on vacation for a week starting tomorrow, so you’ll be seeing some fresh faces pinch-hitting over the next week. It’s likely that they will do a much better job, but lets not tell them that. We’re already having problems with their egos, as it is.

We begin this evening with an image Tweeted by Chris Hardwick, king of the Nerdist empire. It’s a preview from his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, in which he will assuredly be pimping his new book, hitting on Zooey Deschanel (because who wouldn’t) and talking about nerdy things with another nerdy famous person. If Questlove plays the drums with lightsabers, I’m in.

Fox has announced that the current and eighth season of House will be the show’s last. It’s a sad thing, sure. But eight seasons is a good run and as a statement from the studio shows, the timing is right: “The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party. How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.”

We Love Cult has a great interview with Kevin Smith about his show Comic Book Men on AMC. The filmmaker turned multi-platform magnate does give good interview, I’ll tell you that, Steve Dave.

Speaking of places where both Chris Hardwick and Kevin Smith will be found, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con will open with a 136-mile Olympics-style lightsaber relay. This is a terrible idea, if only that it increases the Con’s population of large, sweaty, heaving bearded men. That’s a stereotype we should be moving away from. How about opening with a couch-sitting relay?

Vulture wants you to be prepared for the March 25th return of Mad Men. To aid you, they’ve published a step-by-step guide to catching up on Mad Men that can be completed between now and then. If you started yesterday, that is.

We focus our art-loving eyes this evening on the first poster for The Bourne Legacy, featuring Jeremy Renner about to do something very intense with a gun. It wasn’t until the recently released trailer that I realized that the cast for the Tony Gilroy directed franchise extension is incredible. Ed Norton and Rachel Weisz along with an ass-kicking Renner? Screw the traditional stigma that goes along with fourth films, this one is going to be awesome.

The folks at Popular Mechanics have published a brilliant list of 12 Ways the World Could (Really) End in 2012. Does this have anything to do with movies? Yes. It shows you how close, yet also how far off Hollywood’s interpretation of the apocalypse has been in recent years. Unless Roland Emmerich is working on a movie about Geomagnetic Reversal.

The ever-brilliant Grantland blog has an essay by Robery Mays about his Excellent Dumpuary Adventure, in which he sat in a theater for 48 hours watching everything that a Hollywood multiplex had to offer. From One for the Money to Chipwrecked to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, it’s quite a fun read.

Rick Marshall at IFC provides us a list of five Hammer Films-produced horror movies everyone should see. Not just people who like horror movies. Not just the kind of people who like Hammer’s very distinct brand of horror movies. Not just chubby dudes in graphic tees and beards. Everyone. That includes you.

In a week, I will be talking to director Andrew Stanton about John Carter. My first question: Who’s decision was it to make 2012 the year of Taylor Kitsch? Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s just definitely a thing.

IFC’s Matt Singer — a guest on this past week’s episode of Reject Radio — writes about the rise of the film critic filmmaker. Those precious few who dare to write about film, then jump in and make films. Bless them, for they live hard lives on both sides of the tracks.

In today’s most deliciously nerdy article on the movie blogosphere, io9 gets composer Bear McCreary to reveal the physics behind your favorite science fiction theme tunes. It’s super engrossing. Dangerously so.

Marc Webb explains the work behind The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man: “We spent a lot of time thinking about the biology of a lizard, and how his muscles work, and there’s an entire staff of people dedicated to making him look lifelike. It is an extraordinary task, and very, very difficult. It takes a lot of time, which a lot of people in this room can attest to.”

Flavorwire presents a list of essential Tumblrs for film fans. Sadly, mine is not on there. How dare they!

Over at StarTrek.com, freelancer extraordinaire Jordan Hoffman has a wonderful essay about the doctors of Star Trek and their many idiosyncrasies. That Leonard McCoy will always be the greatest of them.

We close tonight with a trailer from the lineup of SXSW 2012. Our good friend Peter Hall at Movies.com has assembled what he believes to be the Ultimate 2012 South by Southwest Film Festival Trailers Page, bringing together every trailer currently available online. It’s quite the project, and one that I will reward with a link. Also, please indulge me in watching the trailer for Somebody Up There Likes Me, a SXSW premiere that features the acting talents of Nick Offerman, who isn’t quite Ron Swanson-esque, but he still appears to be bringing his bacon-infused A-game.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly collection of things that serious movie lovers will find interesting, useful, or both.

We begin this evening with an image from the website of the LA Times, who are featuring great reader photos chronicling Southern California moments. This one, by a gentleman named Chris Jackson, is of a street performer dressed as Spock on Hollywood Boulevard. Awesome costume. No, I don’t want a photo. No, I will not tip you. No, stop touching my girlfriend’s thigh. Live long and prosper, now get away from me.

Peter Jackson has added one last famous face to the cast of The Hobbit. Billy Connolly will play Dain Ironfoot, a Dwarf warrior. He will undoubtedly be a total badass leather-wearing dwarf who has no less than 35 guns on his person at one time. He will also have two sons, one of which will grow up to be a chubby version of Sean Patrick Flannery.

Ridley Scott is all over the place about the Blade Runner revival: ”We’re still in discussions about whether it should be a prequel or sequel. It’s an interesting conversation. I’m meeting with writers and I’ve also gone back to [original Blade Runner screenwriter] Hampton Fancher and he still speaks the speak. He’s right there. I spoke with him this week. But we don’t even have a script yet.”

Users of Windows who have a great deal of movies on their harddrives — all of which were downloaded legally, I’m sure — can download this nifty free application called Movie Explorer, which allows you to put together all the details about the movies you’ve archived. It’s like entering all the information by hand, except that you can have a cookie and let this app do the work for you. And who doesn’t love cookie time?

Paste has published a list of The 100 Best Movie Posters of the Past 100 Years. Among the list is the following gem for Dr. Strangelove, a personal favorite of yours truly:

Flavorwire presents an odd grouping of Movies Banned in Foreign Countries for Weird Reasons. In fairness, the Chinese have a point about time travel movies and Sex and the City 2 should have been banned everywhere, not just the UAE.

You guys have heard of ActionFest, right? It’s the annual celebration of the action genre held in Asheville, N.C. every year. If you’re not intimately familiar just yet, ActionFest.com Editor-in-Chief Ed Travis has taken to Movies.com to explain what the heck ActionFest is and why you should buy your plane ticket right now.

Another fine interview with Gary Oldman, another reason why I’ll be sad if he doesn’t walk away with gold on Oscar night. That man is a living legend, people.

Jon Favreau has signed on to direct the pilot for Revolution, a project set up at NBC by J.J. Abrams and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. That’s basically a talent stew, there. Hopefully the adventure drama turns out to be a winner.

We close tonight with claymation animationator Lee Hardcastle’s Robo with a Shotgun, which is exactly what you hope it is:

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column about movie news. That is all.

We begin this evening with a look at Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby in Dredd, the revival of the Judge Dredd franchise. First impressions: Karl Urban’s helmet is huge and Olivia Thirlby needs more leather. Or something along those lines. Either way, it’s a good conversation starter.

In a new report from The Onion, watching Downton Abbey totally counts as reading a book.

Fox and friends are finally getting started on The Wolverine with James Mangold directing and Hugh Jackman, fresh from shooting Les Miserables, back in the titular role. The film will release July 23, 2013.

In an effort to outdo the competition on singing the praise of everyone’s favorite movie maestro, Empire has published 80 reasons why John Williams is The Man in celebration of the composer’s 80th birthday.

Mashable presents a list of 5 social sites for film fans. I’m a big supporter of Letterboxd, even though I didn’t make their list of “online film critics” alongside /Film and First Showing. Those bastions of online film criticism.

In a somewhat brilliant but altogether silly experiment, Hero Complex has come up with a bunch of pitches (and posters to go with them) for future Batman movies beyond Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Assuming Warner Bros. will want to continue exploring Gotham City — which they will — there are a number of ways they could go. The following (with art by Sean Hartter) is what Rob Marshall could do for Gotham!, a musical extravaganza:

Hey economics nerds, here’s a very detailed assessment of Hollywood by the numbers. Also, did you guys get my homework done? If not, what they hell am I paying you for?!

For the next round of badness in Despicable Me, Al Pacino will voice a character named El Macho. He will undoubtedly be thwarted by adorable girl scouts and their awkward adoptive father. It gives new life to the line “It’s SO fluffy!”

The Atlantic explores the growing concern for independent cinemas as film is on the outs and digital swoops in to replace it. Because nobody ever thinks of those mom and pop movie theaters across the country who can’t afford a Sony 4K digital projector.

As we get ready to pack up our own Cole Abaius and ship him in a carefully sealed crate to Berlin for the 2012 film festival, THR’s Scott Roxborough explains Why The Berlin Film Festival Still Matters for Hollywood. We’re going for the schnitzel, but Hollywood seems to have a few good reasons, as well.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been selecting, buying, overbuying, framing, buying and tracking down art for the walls of my new office here at Reject HQ. The furious quest for great contemporary film art has led me back to a July 2011 article about how film poster artists are reviving a dying craft. The Tyler Stouts and Tom Whalen’s of the world. The Tom Hodges and Eric Tans. And that Drew Struzan guy, who is still hanging around. Brilliant, all of them.

Is this one of the most inappropriate movie marketing campaigns ever? Movies.com asks the question. My answer is no. Not so much inappropriate, just really on the nose.

We close tonight with a featurette about the visual effects from season two of Boardwalk Empire courtesy of the folks at Brainstorm Digital, whose incredible work includes removing half of a man’s face. Then making it look real and consistent throughout an entire season.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly collection of movie and television news that throws caution to the wind, but never ever pees into the wind. That’s just not smart, friends.

We begin this evening and this week with artist Kinjamin’s depiction of the Community cast as the characters from Street Fighter. It was found via Twitter, as posted by the show’s executive producer Dan Harmon. Needless to say, it’s inspired. So inspired, perhaps, that it makes us hope that Harmon is writing this one down. How about a Street Fighter episode in season four? Hey NBC, how about a season four?

Tonight in incredible movie news, The Raid director Gareth Evans has an idea for a sequel. An idea that actually predates The Raid and is tied in directly to the Sundance smash’s events. I haven’t seen The Raid, but I want a sequel. That’s no different than saying that I’ve not seen the nude form of model Miranda Kerr. But if they wanted to clone her, I’d be okay with that. As a man.

Tonight in stories that relate to gorgeous nude forms, Boardwalk Empire isn’t bringing Paz de la Huerta back. Which is just fine, as her character hasn’t been relevant to the core emotional storylines of the show (ie. the stuff that happens around Nucky) since season one. We’ll always have season one, Ms. de la Huerta.

Tonight in news that relates to Eastern European kinkiness, the “sexually raw” Serbian drama Klip won big at the Rotterdam Film Festival this past week. If it’s anything like the sexually explicit films we’ve seen from Serbia in recent years, then it will be worth seeing then washing out your eyes with battery acid.

Tonight in other news that oozes sexuality in a way that only a Frenchman in between two slender legs can, Oscar-nominated actor Jean Dujardin is taking some heat over the temperature of the ads for his upcoming film Les Infideles, which I believe means The Infidels. Those damn French are so uptight.

Tonight in news related to the Super Bowl, Paste counts down the 5 best (and 4 worst) Super Bowl halftime performances, complete with Slash and the Black Eyed Peas narrowly defeating Janet Jackson’s breast for one of the titles.

Tonight in Oscar predictory news, Rango took Best Animated Film at The Annie Awards, an annual party thrown by the International Animated Film Society. The Simpsons won best animated television show.

Tonight in quotable quotes, “More than 60% of the 2 billion-plus hours of video streamed by Netflix subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2011 originated on the small screen.” That’s a jarring, but not exactly surprising statistic from a recent LA Times piece about Netflix and its users.

Tonight in great reads, James Rocchi writes about how Sundance got its edge back.

Tonight in things that will drive you into a murderous rage, George Lucas talks about adding a digital Yoda to The Phantom Menace. Speaking of which, who’s going to be dressing up for the midnight show on Thursday? Anyone? Bueller?

Tonight in great finds that relate to my obsession with movie art brought upon by my decoration of my new home office, someone has put together a collection of 25 Pixel Perfect Retro Posters by Eric Tan. If anyone has a beat on where I can score the Wall-E “Brighter Future” poster or the X-Men print, I’d be willing to give up at least one of my less usable internal organs.

Tonight in innovative thoughts that might turn out to be interesting, Chicago-based film blog F This Movie! held a Twitter-based film festival. It was basically a live-blogging extravaganza. Just don’t let Kevin Carr see this. That guy doesn’t need any more ways to fill up our Twitter feeds.

Tonight in closing videos, allow me to present a studio-sanctioned, but not entirely meritless featurette called “The Magic of Hugo.” It is quite magical, after all.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie collection of links, posters, videos, and other newsworthy mediums that mostly have to do with movies. Sometimes we mix in a bit of television. Other times we’re talking about something completely different. Call us unfocused if you must, but don’t you ever call us boring.

Leading with a photo of Katy Perry, not my finest moment. Rest assured, though, as there is some actual movie news associated with the buxom pop singer picture above. Paramount Pictures — the studio that brought you the box office cow Justin Bieber: Never Say Never – is planning a Katy Perry 3D movie documentary concert film thing. Squee!

Tonight in news that may actually appear to our audience, John Hawkes and Mos Def may star in a Jackie Brown prequel. Switch is based on an Elmore Leonard novel, charting the rise of a young Louis Gara and Ordell Robbie, or the characters of Robert De Niro and Samuel L. Jackson, respectively. It will be written and directed by Dan Schechter, who wrote the adaptation on spec and sent it blindly to Elmore Leonard’s agent. Luckily, the author loved it.

X-Men: First Class 2 is a go, officially. And Matthew Vaughn, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence all coming back for more mutant action and whatnot.

Last night, Mondo held a screening of Drive at the Alamo Drafthouse. It was a nice evening, if I do say so myself, to enjoy 2011′s best film with friends, beer and oh, there was this ridiculously cool poster by Ken Taylor to take home when it was all over. It has already begun selling for upwards of $300 on eBay. And it has already debuted on my office wall. Take that, eBay.

Action comedy The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman will star Shia LaBeouf. Alright, so that part is old news. The new news is that the project, based on a Black List script by Matt Drake, is back on track at Voltage Pictures after being put in turnaround by Mandate, who wanted Zac Efron to star in place of LaBeouf.

In a daring move, DC Comics is pressing on with a series of Watchmen prequel comics without the participation of author Alan Moore. In a response to The New York Times, Moore had the following to say:  ”I tend to take this latest development as a kind of eager confirmation that they are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago.” Someone get that man his own talk show, please.

Topless Robot offers up 6 Deleted Scenes from Star Trek Movies that Would’ve Made Them a Little Less Confusing. The Klingon scenes from J.J. Abrams’ 2009 film are in there, though I’m not sure if they would have helped the film if left in the final cut. It simply would have been longer.

Our friends at Pajiba do their best to predict the 10 highest grossing movies of 2012. They even go as far as to lay down domestic figures for each film. Like $212 million for Men in Black III, which feels about $100 million short of what America will actually hand over to Sony for their crime. Also, that Dark Knight Rises figure may look bonkers, but it’s going to be dead on. You watch.

The Alamo Drafthouse has unveiled its own Signature Wine line, beginning with two Bottle of Wits titles for their upcoming feast for The Princess Bride. I’ve heard from drunkards and friends alike who have sampled these fine libations. And like everything else Drafthouse puts out, they say it (a) tastes great when it hits your lips and (b) will, in fact, get you drunk.

Christopher Campbell at Movies.com wants to have this conversation: What are the Buzz Films of SXSW 2012? That’s easy. The Raid, Gareth Evans’ The Raid and a little Sundance sleeper called The Raid.

We close tonight with the frightening accuracy and spoilery goodness of College Humor’s Breaking Bad as an RPG:

This Week in Blu-ray is back with another big week of releases. This is the time of year when a lot of great fall releases, Oscar contenders new and old, and even a few summer blockbusters going for the double-dip get their more impressive debuts on the mother of all HD formats. This week we get to explore my personal favorite film of 2011, as well as some fantastic re-releases of classic films like To Kill a Mockingbird and Malcolm X. There will also be a discussion of The Thing (2011), albeit a brief one.

Drive

In recent interviews, director Nicolas Winding Refn has promised fans that a fully loaded edition of Drive would eventually make its way to Blu-ray, with plenty of extras, interviews and other special features. While I, like you, find that to be a nice idea, it’s also hard to overlook the urgency of getting 2011′s best film into my collection as soon as possible. And much to my surprise, this Blu-ray release is solid. Ryan Gosling is still Driver, he’s still driving fast and fighting for the girl, and he’s still punching out Christina Hendricks and stomping dudes flat in elevators in between driving scenes backed by the pulsing score of Cliff Martinez. There’s also some special treats. No, not a toothpick. Although I’d take it. This release comes complete with four featurettes, all worthy of your time, and a documentary-length interview with the film’s director. It’s an efficient package that, like the film to which it’s attached, gets the job done with great rhythm and style. To pass on this release would be a crime against men, women and children everywhere.

To Kill a Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary Edition

The Pitch: Remember kids, it’s a sin to love a white woman. Wait, no, I got that wrong…

Why Buy? All jokes aside, To Kill a Mockingbird may be one of American modern literature’s greatest classics. Two years after the Harper Lee book was published, star Gregory Peck and director Robert Mulligan brought the story to the big screen with all the racial tension and bravado it could possibly need. Now here we are 50 years later and Universal has completely restored the film for a Blu-ray release. and it’s never looked or sounded better. On top of the restoration, there’s a full-color book included in the collector’s edition packaging (as you’ll see below, it’s hard not to be a big fan of these hard-cover book style Blu-ray covers, even if they don’t fit quite right in some DVD storage shelving) and a number of extras that dive deep into the world of this classic, including a feature-length documentary. There’s also a sweet add-on about Universal’s effort to restore their classic films in celebration of the studio’s 100th anniversary. It’s the kind of thing cinema restoration tech junkies will love.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Limited 3D Edition

The Pitch: Remember that time I told you to wait for the super ultra mega edition release? This is that thing…

Why Buy? With his third and supposedly final Transformers movie, mega-director Michael Bay tightened up a lot of things that fans didn’t like about his second effort, Revenge of the Fallen, then he decided to go bigger, more bombastic and wildly scoped with a robot war that absolutely rips Chicago in half. For better or worse, but mostly for better, Dark of the Moon is a massive display of technical filmmaking prowess and ambitious visual spectacle. So why wouldn’t you have such a thing to test out your home theater setup? You would, in fact, because it’s exactly the kind of movie every home theater lover should have. That said, I’m hoping you took my advice from September and skipped the previous release of this title on Blu-ray. That release was a 2-disc, no extras set without the aid of Dark of the Moon‘s impressive 3D. This release, however, has everything. Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, a bunch of great special features, DVD, Digital Copy (including the option to skip the cumbersome Ultraviolet service and go right to an iTunes Digital Copy). Every moment is epic, even those where Michael Bay works hard to properly light Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s legs. The man’s got talent.

Malcolm X

The Pitch: Just in time to remind us that Black History Month starts tomorrow…

Why Buy? With their well-timed release, Warner Bros. has delivered a collector’s level edition of Spike Lee’s expansive story of one of the civil right’s movement’s most powerful icons. It doesn’t hurt that Lee is telling an incredibly interesting story about a monumentally fascinating man. It also doesn’t hurt that he gets an Oscar-caliber performance from Denzel Washington in the titular role. In aid of the film, the Blu-ray release is complete with a lively commentary track (Spike Lee is always interesting when he speaks, despite some of the things he says), deleted scenes with introductions from the director and a Making Of featurette. It’s all packaged in a Blu-ray book format that is a formidable collector’s piece, complete with vibrant red and black cover art. Oh right, and there’s a second DVD disc with the 1972 Oscar nominated documentary Malcolm X. Two movies for the price of one is never wrong, brothers and sisters.

In Time

The Pitch: Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried bring new meaning to the phrase “sexy time.”

Why Rent? Irony is defined as a movie called In Time that has pacing issues. Sadly, this film doesn’t present such irony, and it’s sort of a disappointment. The life of a Blu-ray critic is oft-made by the ability to bring in zingers like that. On the plus side, Andrew Niccol’s futuristic Robin Hood meets Bonnie and Clyde story set in a world where the only currency we have is the time left on digital arm clocks moves well, delivers some action and even brings a bit of sexy back. But enough about Amanda Seyfried. This slick thriller stands tall on a rather rocky narrative foundation, skipping exposition and going straight into its fast-paced on-the-run story. There’s nothing wrong with that, as it leaves less chance for big giant plot holes. Not so many holes here. Just Justin Timberlake solidly taking on an action lead role and the aforementioned Seyfried making doe-eyes at him while he does it. Beyond being a surprisingly entertaining film, the Blu-ray also adds a few worthwhile supplements. Not enough to kick it into Buy territory, but enough to say that it makes good use of what little time it has left. Get it?

Outrage: The Way of the Yakuza

The Pitch: Several families worth of Yakuza get really angry with each other. Violence ensues.

Why Rent? Have you ever had the urge to watch a bunch of Japanese men scream at each other, cut their own fingers off and then start shooting up the place? If so, then Takeshi Kitano has directed a movie for you. Outrage is the simple story of a major crime syndicate just trying to keep their territory under control. The only problem is that the job has been handed on down to a long-suffering subordinate officer who isn’t exactly towing the clan line anymore. Someone double crosses someone else. Someone gets shot. Another person gets stabbed. And you can see where this is going. The point is that when the film explodes with violence, don’t be surprised if pieces of brain tissue come flying out of your television and land on your plate of nachos. Because clearly you’d be eating nachos while watching such a ridiculously violent film, right? The Blu-ray is well stocked with supplements, so those brave souls who dig this kind of mayhem should probably just pay the money and own the Blu-ray. Everyone else should rent. And watch it with your grandmother, then report back.

Shakespeare in Love, Frida, The English Patient and The Piano

The Pitch: Lionsgate wants to sell you Miramax’s Oscar catalog all over again.

Why Rent? This one might go well for the completists among you, because that’s who a catalog blow-out like this is for. It makes sense, actually, for Lionsgate and Miramax to bring out some of their big Oscar guns in the weeks leading up to the golden guy’s big night. We know this because each of these releases comes with a large gold sticker on the front proclaiming the film to be an ‘Academy Award Winner.’ It also makes a bit of sense that these releases don’t add anything to previous releases. They’ve got the same extras with a bump in picture and sound quality. At least Shakespeare in Love comes packaged in an outer sleeve. At least it looks fancy. All pot-shots aside, these are decent releases and each of them look good during the film. Once the film is over, however, there isn’t much else to do with any of these Blus. Therefore, get yourself a bunch of them for a weekend rental, catch up on some Miramax Oscar history with Salma Hayek’s unibrow and then move on with your lives.

Dream House

The Pitch: Everything you saw in the Dream House trailer and nothing more.

Why Avoid? Quick, go watch the trailer for Dream House, then come right back. Alright, now that you’re back I have some great news: you just saved yourself 89 minutes of your movie-viewing life, because you no longer need to see Dream House in its full form. There’s nothing in the film beyond what is in the trailer that is either interesting, frightening or otherwise notable. My gut instinct is to say that during the process of deciding to to this movie, someone put Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts into a dream-like state and convinced them that it would be a good idea. For those who are still intent on picking this one up, the Blu-ray includes a scant four featurette selection that combine to form the amount of information you’re likely to get in an HBO First Look segment. You know, the ones you’d always see in between movies instead of commercials. And if you’re really dangerous, there is also PocketBlu and some other Universal release trailers via BD-Live.

The Thing (2011)

The Pitch: It’s one of those prequel/sequel/nonquel things, caught in the wild with unfinished CGI.

Why Avoid? Despite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton giving their very best efforts under harsh circumstances, this film fails on so many levels it’s hard to keep count through the second act. There’s thematic flatness, narrative logic gaps and most importantly, there’s a big problem with the CGI monster. Not to mention the fact that we know what’s coming at every turn. So even though the Blu-ray shows off The Thing‘s aggressive sound mix perfectly, that can’t be counted as a good thing. Additional visual clarity also shows the effects to be less visually interesting than the practical wonders John Carpenter was working with when he made this movie in 1982. What ever happened to craftsmanship, anyway?

• 2-Headed Shark Attack (Asylum)
• Adaptation. (Image)
• The Big Year (20th Century Fox)
• Cold Mountain (Lionsgate)
• The Double (Image)
• Grand Canyon (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (Discovery Channel)
• Joe Somebody (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The Mill and the Cross (Kino)
• Monkeybone (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Night Train Murders (Blue Underground)
• Nothing in Common (Image)
• Poirot: Series 1 (Acorn Media)
• Poirot: Series 2 (Acorn Media)
• The Scout (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Snow Buddies (Disney/Buena Vista)
• A Soldier’s Story (Image)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level (Paramount)
• The Summer of Massacre (Breaking Glass)
• The Terrorists (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Texas Killing Fields (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Treasure Buddies (Disney/Buena Vista)

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news collection that doesn’t usually involve so much nudity, or Dance Dance Revolution references, but Mondays are always a little special.

We begin this evening with a new shot from The Hobbit, a film you may have heard about. It’s also a film that will undoubtedly be filled with little people, tall wizards, shires, middling earths and rings inscribed with “From Sauron, with love.” This one features Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, standing amongst friends.

Fear not fans of action films based on somewhat popular toys from like, forever ago, a Stretch Armstrong movie is still happening. In related news, Taylor Lautner is out as the project moves to Relativity under the watchful eye of producer Ryan Kavanaugh. The situation, if there ever was one, has already been improved.

Many people saw Joe Carnahan’s The Grey this past weekend, including yours truly. It was quite good, with plenty of Liam Neeson badassery, excellent sound design and a little poetry about cold, black death. What I didn’t notice, however, is what PETA has called the film’s ability to “make wolves look bad.” Dudes… Wild wolves are not going to stop and have tea. Still, the likes of the very intelligent Jen Yamato at Movieline ask, Does PETA have a legitimate beef with The Grey? No.

The Sundance Channel has published a great interview with Man on Wire director James Marsh, who talks about the Academy’s absolute snubbing of not only his film Project Nim, but also the likes of The Interrupters and Senna. It’s embarrassing for the documentary branch to make such egregious oversights. They also overlooked Rise of the Planet of the Apes star Andy Serkis. I’m beginning to believe that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is racist against monkeys.

Here lies a new poster for The FP, a Drafthouse Films release that will go down in history as having perhaps one of the most ridiculous opening sequences in the history of movies about Dance Dance Revolution battles. Screw it, I’m calling it the greatest movie about Dance Dance Revolution battles. That’s all you need to know. Also, The FP will open in select cities on March 16. You should know that, too.

Producer Keith Calder, who has worked on such films as The Wackness and a little horror flick that’s going to blow your mind in 2012 called You’re Next, has published The Big Filmmaking Book List, a list of books that he views as a starting point for anyone that wants to learn about filmmaking. There’s some usual suspects — including Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew – as well as some killer pulls, which is basically everything from and about Walter Murch. If you’d like to participate in the making of films and know how to read, this is a list for you.

The folks at FilmSpotting have launched a new alternate podcast called Filmspotting: SVU (Streaming Video Unit), hosted by Alison Wilmore and Matt Singer. It’s more than worth your time.

Sundance did a neat thing this year, utilizing Instagram to get people involved in the festival. The project, #Sundance on Instagram, features images from filmmakers, fans, Sundance staff and other attendees, all capturing a great snapshot of the Sundance experience.

MSN’s James Rocchi talks to William H. Macy about Catholicism and his naked body. Basically I wanted to be able to write that, because I’m mentally four years old. Also, it’s a fine interview.

Did you know that our own Robert Fure was on The Golden Briefcase last week raging about Extreme Prejudice, The Grey and Man vs. Nature films? We’re hoping that he didn’t break anything while he was there, though we won’t be surprised when we get the bill.

Yahoo Movies counts down all the Sundance 2012 breakout performances, including the likes of Andrea Riseborough, John Hawkes and just about everything about Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Sometimes finding a good closing video for News After Dark is a tall task. The web can only deliver so many gems on a weekly basis, and I have a standing policy not to post crap. So on a night like tonight, when I don’t have anything better, the answer is as simple as reaching into my own recent viewing history. Earlier this evening I watched Frank Oz’s wonderful 2007 dark comedy Death at a Funeral. Tonight I end our session with this clip reel of Alan Tudyk as Simon, the unintentionally high, oft-nude funeral guest. The way he yells “NO!” (at the 4:24 mark of this video) kills me, every time.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that frankly doesn’t have much to say this evening. So it’s all good stuff. Quality over Quantity and whatnot.

We begin tonight with a new image from The Avengers, as published by Marvel.com in a new batch of images from the highly anticipated film. In this one, Nick Fury, as played by Samuel L. Jackson, has some gnarly eye scarring going on. As if that guy needed to look more like a badass.

Paramount and Fox Searchlight will put Rango and Margaret back in theaters, respectively. One will try to boost it’s profile as it makes a run at the Best Animated Oscar, while the other will attempt to capitalize on a groundswell of support from critics after being shelved due to legal problems for years.

Seth Freilich has written an interesting expose on why Pajiba was banned from Sundance this year. In a turn that you might not expect, he is very fair to the Sundance Press Office, who seemed to be very fair in calling and explaining why. The reason behind it all, however, is quite interesting, raising a number of questions about whether or not filmmakers need protection from press. Either way, we hope that our friends at Pajiba will be able to get back to Sundance soon. They’re some of the smartest, decentest folks online.

Also in Sundance news, Brian Kelley has been writing Sundance Diaries over at Culture Map that you should read, especially if you’re looking for more talk about how amazing The Raid is. Personally I didn’t read that part, as I’m boycotting all things written about The Raid until I see it, which likely won’t happen until March. This is the shroud of sadness under which I live.

The Shiznit has produced a number of posters for a feature called If 2012′s Oscar-nominated posters told the truth that are worth a look. Including, but not limited to, these posters for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Help, the latter being particularly humorous.

According to a conversation that cinematographer Matthew Libatique had with Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeff Wells, Darren Aronofsky will shoot Noah in July. At least that’s the rumor.

Film historian and all-around fine chap Zack Carlson has written an essay at Badass Digest about Why You Hate Movies. He’s attempting to start a conversation about all the Hollywood trends we, the Internet, hate with every fiber of our being. I’m not taking the bait — I’m too engrossed in watching a Donnie Yen movie at the moment, so all I have it love in my heart. You guys can head over there and join the hate-fest though, if that’s what interests you.

We close tonight’s decidedly short edition of News After Dark with a music video from Breaking Bad that will make it all worth it. You long work week, the commute home, having to read my senseless drivel. All of it will be worth watching The Ecstasy of Gold tribute video. That is, unless you are sensitive to Breaking Bad spoilers. Then you should not watch it.

This Week in Blu-ray may be coming to you a few days later than usual, but fear not, as it was worth the wait. Fox and MGM decided to drop a number of great films on me at the last minute, meaning long hours of pouring over special features, drinking heavily and ultimately turning myself into a late-1970s Woody Allen character by the end. It was all worth it, as you’re about to experience 2500 words or so of the most full edition of this column we’ve seen in a long time. Plenty of unsung heroes of 2011, classics of yesteryear and boxing robots to go around. Also, Rob Hunter stops by for some cross-column reviewing with Rebecca.

50/50

In a week that will see the release of a bevy of classics coming to Blu-ray for the very first time, it would be a crime to overlook one of 2011′s most heartfelt works, complete with some ranged performances from the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Bryce Dallas Howard. Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), working from a script by Will Reiser based on a true story, tells the tale of Adam, a 27-year old guy who gets diagnosed with spinal cancer. Dealing with his overbearing friends, his smothering mother and a relationship that hangs on the edge, Adam must find a way to not only beat cancer, but all the situational drama it’s caused between him and those he cares about most. It’s funny, touching and full of memorable performances. Just the kind of thing that could beat Annie Hall to Pick of the Week, especially with a decent amount of special features on the Blu. Don’t let the tagline on the cover — “from the guys who brought you Superbad” — that’s just salesmanship on Summit’s part. This one has far more heart than you’d ever expect.

Wings (1927)

The Pitch: It’s a tale as old as time, just like this movie.

Why Buy? Paramount is making a big deal of the fact that Wings is the first Oscar Best Picture winner, and rightfully so. The 1927 film was, in fact, the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It’s also a story that has been told and retold several times since: two young men, one rich and one middle class, fall in love with the same woman, then get sent off to become World War I fighter pilots. Hilarity ensues. The kicker here is that for a film created in the mid-1920s, it sure looks swell in 1080p. Some Blu-ray buyers are all about the crisp, clean presentation of today’s modern movies. But if you’re that special breed that also loves seeing the cracks and imperfections in a film preserved from a time long gone, presented as perfectly as possible in HD, then this one will feel right at home in your collection. I’m also absolutely in love with the cover art, which adds a bit of celebratory flair to Paramount’s excitement over this particular release. We should all be so excited about this well-aged beauty.

Rebecca

The Pitch: Joan Fontaine is my black & white crush. I would travel through time for this woman…

Why Buy? A young woman (the lovely Joan Fontaine) is drawn into a relationship with a mysterious and wealthy widow (Laurence Olivier), and when the two get married she discovers the secret behind his enigmatic behavior and the possible murder of his dead wife. Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s bestseller was the director’s first Hollywood film, and it remains somewhat of an odd duck on his resume. His vision was compromised at every turn by uber-producer David O. Selznick, and the result is a film that never quite feels Hitchcockian. Still, the movie is a compelling gothic mystery (that went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars) and features three strong and charismatic lead performances. Especially from Fontaine. MGM’s new Blu has a solid, albeit predictably unremarkable transfer, and includes a handful of special features that offer fascinating insight into the film’s production. - Rob Hunter

Annie Hall

The Pitch: Boy meets girl, girl discovers that boy is Woody Allen, somehow girl sticks around for a while.

Why Buy? Believe it or not, I had never before seen Annie Hall. We all have our detestable cinematic blind spots, and one of mine happens to be much of Woody Allen’s pre-2000 filmography. That said, I’m here to report to you 35 years after the release of the film in question that it is quite good. Woody Allen shines as the neurotic Alvy Singer, a comedian who is convinced that life is meant to be miserable. Even when he meets and dates the love of his life, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), he still seems intent on being miserable. So she leaves. And he wises up for a moment and follows her, and learns a lesson or two along the way. It’s a charming film that proves Woody Allen to be one charismatic fella, and on Blu-ray it looks darn good for its age. A little digital noise here and there will only appear to those with the keenest of eyes. For everyone else, it will look like you’re seeing Annie Hall for the first time all over again. Unless, like me, you’re seeing it for the first time, period. The only wish, of course, would be something in the way of extras. For something labeled as part of ‘The Woody Allen Collection’, you’d think we’d at least get a few extras. Sadly, there are none. That shouldn’t stop you, however, from adding this to your Woody Allen collection.

Notorious (1946) and Spellbound

The Pitch: Two Alfred Hitchcock movies in glorious HD.

Why Buy? First, to answer your initial question: why put these two together? For one, they are kindred spirits, both in the way they were cast and executed by the master himself and in the way they are being released on Blu-ray. Both star Ingrid Bergman. In Spellbound, she’s a psychiatrist who falls for one of colleagues, only to find out later that he may not be a psychiatrist after all, but an amnesiac who was once a murderer. In Notorious, she is a troubled beauty who is recruited by Cary Grant to help him infiltrate a German spy ring in post-war Rio. And of course, like any of us, she falls in love with Cary Grant. To their equal credit, both Blu-rays are presented with shiny 1080p transfers. Presented in their original full frame aspect, they have a clarity that is unexpected from what otherwise feels like a catalog release. No special box art, no big “Special Limited Collectors Edition” taglines, just a good transfer and a buffet of special features. That’s exactly what one might hope to get from such a release. And exactly why you’d be wise to invest your money in this version before MGM wises up and releases the same thing with new cover art for $10 more.

Manhattan

The Pitch: Woody Allen falls for Diane Keaton… again.

Why Buy? Yet another brilliant Woody Allen movie that I had unintentionally ignored up to this point. Allen takes his beloved town into the frame of black and white for this 1979 folly of sex, romance and neurosis. He plays Isaac, a guy who hates his job, has a 17-year old girlfriend, a lesbian ex-wife who’s writing a tell-all book about him and a new love interest in Mary (Keaton), a sexy, intelligent and challenging new conquest. It’s another of those situations in which Woody Allen chases love down the rabbit hole, kicking and screaming about it all the way. But it’s so effortlessly breathtaking visually that it’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the majesty of Manhattan. Like Annie Hall, Manhattan on Blu-ray is a bittersweet pill. It’s a gorgeous movie transferred with considerable effort to the high definition medium. But there are no supplements to speak of. That said, it’s the kind of delightful film that any film fan should own.

Due to its wild length, this week’s edition is broken up into two pages. On page two, you’ll see all the titles I’d buy or avoid, plus all the titles that weren’t reviewed, but still released.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly collection of links and stories that you won’t know about unless you continue reading. Then come back tomorrow night and read more. Then the night after that. And the… You get the point. The power of Christ compels you.

We begin this evening with a promo image from the 1991 Steven Spielberg fantasy epic Hook, featuring Dustin Hoffman as the titular captain and Robin Williams has his pudgy, crowing nemesis. There’s no news here, though I’m sure you were all thinking remake or sequel for a moment, just that I saw Hook on the big screen last night while eating a giant turkey leg courtesy of the Alamo Drafthouse’s Hook mini-feast. It was delightful. But more on that later.

Earlier this week I was introduced to a new website that allows you to save a list of movies you’ve watched, rate them, review them, and even subscribe to your friends’ lists. I know what you’re thinking — there are 25 of those sites out there. But Letterboxd seems great for movie fans who like to keep a tally of the films they’ve seen. You can now even follow people like me, who also watch several movies. And the layout is gorgeous. You may want to check it out.

Pajiba presents a list of 10 Shows that Would Be Much Better If They Killed Off a Major Character. They’ve got a point with Mad Men, as Betty Draper is probably worth more (dramatically) dead than alive. Also, why not kill off Ted Mosby? Isn’t that the inevitable end that How I Met Your Mother has always been building toward?

According to the following video and this note from Vulture, Ferris Bueller is coming back for a Super Bowl ad. Yes, Matthew Broderick is bringing a 40-something Ferris back to avoid work and schlep for some sort of soft drink company. This can only end badly.

According to those within Marvel Studios, Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have finished a script for Doctor Strange, a movie the world is clamoring for, even though it doesn’t realize it.

Somehow McG got his romantic comedy This Means War an R-rating. The Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon led comedy about two spies who enter into a duel of wits over a blonde who looks smashing in a little black dress apparently has “some sexual content.” For now, the Puritanical society known as the MPAA has spoken. We think they were just responding to that time we said they didn’t like sex.

We Love Cult has published an interesting piece about The Scientific Method of Nerdom, piecing together the work of Nerdist host Chris Hardwick and a Q&A he held alongside Wil Wheaton at Meltown Comics to celebrate the release of Hardwick’s book, The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life).

Roth Cornet at HitFix asks, Would The Grey have been in the Oscar hunt if it had a qualifying run? Considering the fact that it was barely screened for the country’s critics, I don’t think Oscar was ever quite in the equation for the latest Joe Carnahan joint. However, it does involve Liam Neeson fighting a pack of angry wolves, so I’ll see it this weekend.

No one takes an Oscar snub and turns it to comedy like Patton Oswalt. No one has really ever tried, but lets just assume for a moment that others have tried and failed. That makes Oswalt’s Twitter rampage about Ryan Gosling’s keg stands that much more impressive.

Someone sent this over to me the other day and I’m sure some of you may find it interesting. Lauren Bagby writes about the trials and tribulations of “Screener Season,” that magical time of year when everyone who knows someone who gets screeners as a voting member of the Academy or a critics group goes into hyper “I need a favor” mode. I know this first hand, as I just so happen to be one of those screener-having losers who loves the attention.

We close tonight with a fan-made opening credits sequence for The Dark Knight Rises that is fun and inventive and nothing at all like what we can expect from Christopher Nolan and team. People seem pretty excited about this movie, yeah?

In May 2011, the Alamo Drafthouse hosted “Day of the Apes,” an epic 8-hour marathon of all five Planet of the Apes films on 35mm. Above all other things, this should be celebrated as one fine event. Every single Apes film in glorious 35mm? What could possibly improve such a situation? How about a brilliant set of posters from some of Mondo’s sinister cabal of artists, the likes of Ken Taylor, Martin Ansin, Phantom City Creative and Jason Edmiston. In an unprecedented exclusive that spans across four of the web’s most popular film blogs (and also Film School Rejects), the poster set, created to commemorate the event, is finally unveiled to the public with each film tackled by a different artist.

First, lets have an exclusive look at Ken Taylor’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes print:

Click below to view the other exclusive posters at io9, Movies.com, Collider and Badass Digest.

And finally, here’s a look at Jason Edmiston’s limited edition lithograph:

Here’s the specifications on the line-up:

PLANET OF THE APES
Artist: Martin Ansin
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition: 415

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES
Artist: Ken Taylor
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition: 390

ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES
Artist: Rich Kelly
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition: 320

CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Artist: Phantom City Creative
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition: 370

BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
Artist: Florian Bertmer
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition of 345

GO APE*
Limited Edition Lithograph
Artist: Jason Edmiston
Size: 24” x 36”
Edition: 295

*Only available with purchase of the full poster set.

The posters, created in partnership with Sideshow Collectibles, will be sold as a set on Thursday, January 26th for $230.  The set will also include an exclusive print “Alamo Drafthouse Wants You To Go Ape!” This limited edition lithograph is a variation of the famous 20th Century Fox poster created for the 1973 re-release of all five films in theaters, where the artwork “aped” Uncle Sam.  The “Go Ape!” lithograph will only be available with purchase of the full set.

The prints will be sold as a set on Thursday, January 26th for $230. Any remaining individual prints will go on sale on Friday, January 27th.  Follow @MondoNews for on sale announcements.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly dose of awesome movie news, with a side of other stuff you’ll probably want to read in between all the movie news.

We begin tonight with an image of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg pondering The World’s End, the supposed third film in their “Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy” that began with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. It’s about damned time, as they say. From Scott Pilgrim to Star Trek, the pair have done plenty of great things apart, but now we’ll hopefully see them wrap this thing up. Unless Marvel calls Edgar about that Ant-Man movie…

Cinema Blend presents their list of The Top 10 Lines of Dialogue in 2011 Movies. Their title is awkward, SEO-bending kind of stuff, but the list is pretty good. That said, “Why Cookie Rocket?” should’ve been much higher.

In a spot-on piece, The LA Times’ Nicole Sperling cites the Academy’s overlooking of 2011′s darker performances, the likes of Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin, Michael Fassbender in Shame, Patton Oswalt in Young Adult pretty much everyone in Drive.

Next Tuesday night in Austin, Mondo will hold a screening of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive for the angry mob at the Alamo Drafthouse. According to a tweet from Mondo manager Justin Ishmael, there will also be a poster. If it’s anything like this poster from James White, it will be a highly sought collectible:

Movie lovers in the Washington D.C. area will be interested in this interview The Alamo Drafthouse published with Joseph Edwards and Anthony Coco of Cojeaux Cinemas, the investors who will bring the Alamo brand to the area surrounding the nation’s capital. Will it be as widely read as the transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union address? No, but it should be.

“It’s actually such a beautiful, romantic story set in this incredible, epic setting, this kind of bleak world. But the light, the flowering in the grey areas is this romance that just blossoms; it’s very unlikely, but I’m very proud of it.” That’s Teresa Palmer on Warm Bodies, the upcoming zombie romance from The Wackness director Jonathan Levine.

Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor have joined James Wan’s next film. That’s the guy from Office Space and the director of Saw getting together for a film called The Conjuring. Please wake your neighbors.

Erik Davis at Movies.com takes time away from Sundance movie watching to explore something we’ve all been interested in for some time: Why Does Kirsten Dunst Like Making Out with People Upside Down?

We close this evening with a Filmmaker Magazine interview from Sundance with new indie film producer Ira Glass, best known as the host of This American Life. The man brings his usual storytelling brilliance and verve to an interview about how his friend Mike Birbiglia convinced him to produce Sleepwalk with Me, which premiered at this year’s festival. He was really, really stunned:

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that is celebrating Monday Funday with what amounts to a bunch of shenanigans. Don’t worry though, we’ve slipped in at least one legitimate piece of news. We’ll get to that shortly.

We begin tonight with something found a few weeks ago via Warming Glow, where an image from the Twitter account of Charley Koontz, best known as Fat Neil on Community, shows that Executive Producer Dan Harmon is just as bitter about Community‘s ratings as the rest of us. Seriously, who is the Nielsen Family? In other news, I hope Dan Harmon never changes.

Tonight in actual news, Bryan Cranston and Anna Kendrick have joined Get a Job, the next project from Roger Dodger director Dylan Kidd, who has spent 8 years not directing anything since the great, great Roger Dodger. They join Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jay Pharoah and possibly Jesse Eisenberg.

One of the more fascinating site’s I’ve come across this week is Doctor Nerdlove, a site that provides dating advice for nerds. The advice is hit or miss, but it does feature an article called Dating While Nerdy, adorned with a picture of Kayla Kromer’s Millennium Falcon bed, with which I am personally familiar. Also, make sure your life-sized standees are either badass or adorable. A man with a life-sized Sailor Moon standee in his room is not going to seal the deal. Of this, I am sure.

“I think it should be considered acting, because it is. My part in it, what I do, as say the authorship of the role, the creation, the emotional content of the role, the physicality up until the point of delivering that for the director, it is acting.” That’s Andy Serkis explaining how performance capture is acting. No one that saw his performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes is going to argue with that.

We feature art tonight from Massimo Carnevale, who has created this eerie, brilliant concept poster for Drive. It has been found via the great site Reelizer:

Fans of The Wire, prepare to cringe. According to an expose by Gawker, people say really stupid things about The Wire on OKCupid. There’s something wrong with the world.

Typographer Matthew Butterick was just minding his own business, out to see one of the winter’s big action films, when he happened upon the awful on-screen typography in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. This Verdana bomb of IMAX-sized lettering got him so worked up that he wrote a mostly hilarious letter to director Brad Bird.

If you have $35 and some extra time tomorrow night, you can ask NY Times critic A.O. Scott all about the Academy Awards and why Drive won’t win best picture via an exclusive webcast called Beyond the Red Carpet: Oscar Talk with A.O. Scott. In other news, I will do the same thing for free. Just post your questions in the comment section below and I’ll answer you back. There, I saved you all $35. Film School Rejects: We’re here for you, man.

According to this LucasFilm Fan Club magazine from 1992 dug up by The Mary Sue, George Lucas has been working on Red Tails forever. Not literally, but figuratively.

One trend we’ve seen during the rise of the Internet and services like Tumblr is the notion of keeping track of every movie you watch. Is this something you do? If you’re anything like HTML Giant’s AD Jameson, you may have tallied some 1925 feature films in 15 years. Which, interestingly enough, is only .7% of all movies released (according to IMDB). Some of you may have more, which would be impressive. For those who have kept track, what is your total?

We close tonight with a video from a contest held over at IndieWire’s Press Play. It’s called the Vertigoed contest, in which video mix-masters were tasked with setting scenes from other movies to Bernard Hermann’s “Scene D’Amour” from Vertigo. The winner of the contest was Jake Isgar’s take on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:

Like many a warm-blooded American male who spends a little time here and there on the Internet, I can’t say that I haven’t been witness to the world of adult entertainment. And like any major money-generating form of entertainment, there’s a wide array of such films, videos and images out there in the world. Some is classy and sexy, while some involves animals. Ewww.

That said, like the mainstream world of film, even pornography has its superstars. And even those superstar personas have real (or mostly real, at least physically) people behind them. So when a documentary seeks to explore what’s happening in the minds of those who would disrobe and perform a wide variety of sexual acts on camera for money, it’s hard not to be just a little bit interested. When such a documentary presents a trailer as sleek and classy as that of Deborah Anderson’s Aroused: The Lost Sensuality of a Woman, one that goes beyond the titillating and promises something insightful and perhaps substantial, the film critic in me taps the red-blooded hetero male in me on the shoulder and proclaims, “yeah, we should keep an eye on this one.” Because perhaps it could be interesting on both intellectual and provocative levels.

Watch the trailer for yourself below:

Aroused features a look at the lives of s0me of adult film’s most recognizable stars such as Jesse Jane, Belladonna, Katsuni, Allie Haze, Kayden Kross, April O’Neil, Francesca Lé, Lisa Ann, Brooklyn Lee, Alexis Texas, Asphyxia Noir, Teagan Presley, Ash Hollywood, Tanya Tate, Lexi Belle and Misty Stone.

The film will be available to audiences in Spring 2012. More information can be found at TheArousedProject.com, a slightly NSFW website, or on the slightly less NSFW Twitter @ArousedProject. Hat tip to April O’Neil on Twitter for (a) pointing me in the direction of this project and (b) featuring an awesome Twitter background that includes The TARDIS.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that won’t hesitate to deliver all the best content of the day. Seriously, don’t tempt it. It will do it.

We begin tonight with a delightful piece of art from Megan Lara called Troy and Abed’s Dope Adventures. This Calvin and Hobbes esque homage to Community is most definitely cool. Cool, cool, cool.

Is Chuck Norris to blame for Expendables 2 getting a PG-13 rating? That’s the question being posed over at JoBlo by the ever-talented Niki Stephens. It’s based on an interview Norris did with Gazeta that was loosely translated into a story about how the otherwise wholesome actor roundhouse kicked his curse word-heavy script. Time and an MPAA review will tell.

Did you guys know that our own Rob Hunter was recently a guest on The Golden Briefcase? Well, now you know.

Tonight’s art project is from a series of For Your Consideration spoofs over at Vulture. For Best Jacket, the award goes to…

Sundance is right around the corner. We’ll be there in force, as we’re sending a crack staff of our best people. And seeing as you’ve probably already read our preview articles, you may feel like you’re caught up on what you need to know before Park City goes crazy this weekend. Our friends from around the web thing you need to know more. Here are a few great articles that will give you knowledge:

• CinemaBlend presents 5 Returning Sundance Successes to Watch
• Moviefone chronicles all your favorite TV stars invading Park City
• Matt Patches counts down the big stars looking to break out with small Sundance films
• The Film Stage has 10 Must-See Festival Favorites, or soon-to-be favorites
• Movies.com presents Six Sundance Shorts from First-Time Feature Directors
• Our former FSR Blogger Condo-mates at FirstShowing present their Ten Sundance Movies to Watch

Cormac McCarthy has written a script, and the folks who produced The Road have picked it up. It’s called The Counsellor, about a respected lawyer who believes himself smart enough to try his hand in the business of drugs. As you can image, hilarity ensues, with a lack of punctuation.

The Staff at Hitfix bring you 15 Questions Keeping Hollywood Awake in 2012. Questions that don’t include cocaine and Red Bull binges, that is. The big question: How much goddamn coke will we be able to buy with that Dark Knight Rises money?!

UK theater chain Odeon Cinemas issued a handful of refunds to disgruntled patrons who were made that The Artist didn’t have any talking. There’s no snark for a story like that. Just let it sit.

The Academy has released the shortlist for the Best Foreign-Language Film award, narrowing it down to nine potential contenders. Among the list is Bullhead, a Fantastic Fest sensation picked up for distribution by Drafthouse Films. It’s so goddamn good, it might even get nominated. Then it will lose to A Separation. But it might get nominated!

We close tonight with Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel’s take on the future of CGI:

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that has a bit of a fashion sense, a sometimes sexy side and perhaps even a creepy streak. It will use and abuse all of these facets of its game in tonight’s edition. This one, as they say, is a must-read.

We begin tonight with an image of custom Attack the Block themed shoes made by Toni Taylor-Salisbury, whom you may know as Mrs. Junkfood Cinema. The lovely Kayla Kromer tweeted them earlier this evening, as yet another example of Mrs. Salisbury’s amazing work in the realm of geek footwear. You can check out her other work over on her Etsy store. Do it now. Then come back, because there’s more news.

Celebrations will undoubtedly spill into the streets now that Sherlock has been renewed for a third season. Stephen Moffat spilled the beans on Twitter, leaving many of us weeping with joy. Literally weeping.

Tomorrow, many businesses on the Internet will be going black to protest SOPA, the upcoming legislation that would not only fight piracy, but threaten the way of life of many bloggers, publishers and domain owners. We’re with them in spirit, even though we won’t be going black — we can’t afford to lose a day’s ad revenue, as SOPA passing could very well put a site like FSR out of business if we inadvertently happen upon something that doesn’t belong to us and post it as news. That said, the MPAA is really mad at Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and the like.

J.J. Abrams has begun shooting Star Trek 2, that is, if a press release from Paramount Pictures is to believe. It is. In slightly more interesting Star Trek 2 news, MTV’s Josh Horowitz got Benedict Cumberbatch to comment on his character: “I don’t think we do know that, actually. I think that’s just supposition. That’s all I’m going to say about it.” I don’t care who he plays. He’s in it, and that works. For Star Trek fans, there’s also this red alert door chime thingy.

Movieline asks if the sexy GQ spread Michelle Williams has done will win her an Oscar. Because it’s about hearts and minds, people. Hearts and minds and things that exist a few feet below hearts and minds. Michelle Williams 2012!

“On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie. I’m saying: ‘Fine. But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.’ ” That’s the money quote from a NYT piece on George Lucas, which otherwise finds an interesting story behind the making of Red Tails, but will be remembered for quoting Lucas on his fanboy butthurtedness. In short: he’s sorry you feel that way, but he still doesn’t care what you think.

Patrick Goldstein at The Big Picture asks What Do Mitt Romney and ‘The Artist’ have in common? They both work better without dialogue? They both have shiny teeth? They both come from a more innocent time with outdated ideals? They’re both going to not win Best Picture? So many questions…

The AV Club’s Jason Heller has published a new novel called If You Like Monty Python… that will help Python fans find other great things to love — once they are done watching the entire Flying Circus box set for the 12th time. I bought a copy. You should, too.

The folks at The Guardian will debut Terry Gilliam’s short The Wholly Family online on January 23rd for £1.99. Insert joke about currency exchange rates here. Just pay the $17 and watch the damn film.

Even though the momentum of its narrative quality seems to suggest that the good days are over, Dexter isn’t going anywhere according to Exec. Producer Manny Coto. Also, there may be a Dexter movie sometime in the future. Because all shows have been thought of for a movie. It’s just the way of life.

We close tonight with the folks at Funny or Die delivering what can only be described as the most disturbing possible version of Rugrats that science can create. It’s live action, it stars Alia Shawkat, Mae Whitman and Michael Angarano, and it’s effing terrifying.

This week provides another interesting round of Blu-ray releases. Just before George Lucas delivers Red Tails, HBO is ready to release the original — and great, if you ask me — Tuskegee Airmen film they produced years ago. But that’s not getting a review this week, as a review copy was not available. Notable as it may be, that original Tuskegee film doesn’t hold a candle to Ryan Gosling’s political career, or Criterion’s take on Steven Soderbergh’s drug trade epic, or even Ed O’Neill duking out with a pretentious kid on the way home for the holidays. It’s an exciting week, despite the fact that we’re clearly caught in the  doldrums of the winter movie season.

The Ides of March

In its own sneaky way, George Clooney’s high tension political drama stayed under the radar and snuck in late as one of 2011′s best dramas. The Golden Globes took notice, awarding the film four nominations — though it did not take home any awards. The key to the whole thing is Ryan Gosling, in his best performance of a year filled with best performances, as an idealistic campaign staffer who gets caught in some seriously dirty politics. In a world that is most often all talk, it’s his ability to weave a web of words that ultimately leads him through a forest of deception. Clooney delivers as director, assembling one hell of a cast — Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and himself, to name a few — and keeps the pace with a script he wrote alongside Grant Heslov. It’s a ferocious political comedy that isn’t so much about political ideas as much as it’s about the game itself. And what a game it is. On Blu-ray, Ides has a few exclusive featurettes that will keep the party going long after your vote has been cast. It’s a razor-sharp movie that more than earns its spot as Pick of the Week.

Traffic (Criterion)

The Pitch: Steven Soderbergh does drugs, Criterion does the special features.

Why Buy? At this point, there probably isn’t much explaining I should have to do as to why you should own Soderbergh’s pulse-raising drug drama. It’s one of the first in the wave of early-2000s ensemble dramas that gained critical acclaim by layering together massive stories that still felt intimate. And the performances — those of Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Salma Hayek, and so on — are some “career best” kinds of outings. There’s a reason why movies like this end up in Criterion’s collection. And there’s a reason why Criterion fills them with layers of supplements, the likes of commentary tracks times three, 25+ minutes of deleted scenes, and almost an hour of additional footage. Like so many Criterion releases, Traffic feels very much like a comprehensive release. The only draw-back would be if you’ve already invested money into the Criterion DVD release. The Blu-ray’s picture and sound quality is far above and beyond that of the DVD, but the extras are identical. That said, a gorgeous Blu-ray transfer might just be worth it for a film like this one.

Dutch

The Pitch: Ed O’Neill is dating your mom. Get over it and get in the damn car.

Why Buy? I know what you’re thinking: “Damn, I totally forgot about Dutch.” Or something along those lines. Until I was inspecting this week’s release list, I had forgotten, as well, dear friends. But fear not, that’s what I’m here for. Ed O’Neill stars as the title character, a blue collar worker who agrees to drive his girlfriend’s son home from prep school for the holidays. The little shit turns out to grow up and be Ethan Embry. On a sad note, this is a simple catalog release from Anchor Bay, so don’t expect much beyond the film itself. But you should be able to find it pretty cheap on Amazon and slide it into your collection. The only thing missing, of course, from a Blu-ray release would be a deck of racy playing cards. But that may be too much to ask from the 126th highest grossing film of 1991.

Good Morning Vietnam

The Pitch: Now you can watch everything that happens after the iconic line…

Why Rent? Does anyone even remember what this film is about? Beyond the radio antics of Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer, a radio DJ who gets shipped to Vietnam to spice up the lives of troops on the Armed Forces Radio. Of course, he’s not quite GI enough to please superiors, even though he easily wins over troops and the ladies of Vietnam. What’s striking about Barry Levinson’s film, however, isn’t just the comedic presence of Williams, but his character’s brushes with the real Vietnam war. Something that is presented in a surprisingly honest way. From the Delta to the DMZ, there’s far more to this movie than the soundtrack I owned on cassette tape until I wore it out years later. As for the Blu-ray, the amount of archival footage and behind the scenes features on this disc feel like a great deal, even if they are in standard definition and reused from earlier releases. It sure is nice to have this one delivered with a decent HD transfer, though.

Dead Poets Society

The Pitch: Because Disney couldn’t just release one classic Robin Williams movie…

Why Rent? Before he ever won an Oscar, Robin Williams was delivering spectacular performances that would be overshadowed by his comedic works. As professor John Keating in Dead Poets Society, Williams brings life to the droll world of the Welton Academy. It’s a spirited work and one of director Peter Weir’s best. Worth owning, sure. But how about that Blu-ray? That’s where we get into a bit of trouble, as they say. While Dead Poets looks great on Blu-ray — better than it has in previous DVD releases — the extras are a bit of a letdown. Disney, like any studio out to make a buck, is just as guilty as laying down a catalog release with minimal effort. Does that mean this film shouldn’t be part of your collection? Absolutely not. Even the DVD carryover extras are interesting. But it certainly doesn’t mean that it’s worth buying again if you already own the DVD.

Abduction

The Pitch: Taylor Lautner is an action star, whether you like it or not.

Why Avoid? It’s increasingly difficult to believe that John Singleton, a man who has delivered films like Poetic Justice, Four Brothers and Higher Learning, is responsible for such an all-out blitz of bad, but it’s true. That tangential Twilight money must be hard to pass up, even for a man who has made films of substance. Then again, he did deliver 2 Fast 2 Furious. In this film, he places Twilight‘s shirtless wolf boy in as a young man who seeks out the truth about his life after discovering his own photo on a missing persons website. The chase turns out to be far less interesting than we’re led to believe by such a synopsis. In fact, if there’s anything this film oozes, it’s a significant lack of personality that matches the empty expressions of its young star. There have been times in his career that Taylor Lautner has shown some spark, leading some to believe that he may break free of Twilight and do great things. This is not one of those moments.

The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption

The Pitch: Swords and sandals and Billy Zane.

Why Avoid? Despite the fact that Scorpion King 3 sports two of the world’s foremost almost stars — Billy Zane and Ron Perlman — and two of the world’s most frighteningly tough dudes — Kimbo Slice and Dave Bautista, watching it may lead one to be convinced that the screenplay (penned by Brendan Cowles and Shane Kuhn) was written in crayon. The dialogue is wooden, the story makes moves between strict formula and nonsensical nothingness, and the action lacks any sort of scale that we’ve come to expect, even from franchises like The Mummy. There’s no Brendan Fraser charm, no Jet Li high-flying fists and no poorly CGI’d Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Basically anything that made The Mummy franchise is interesting. In its place is Billy Zane in a movie that appears to have been shot in one of the producers’ back yards. Blu-ray exclusive features like Pocket Blu be damned, there’s absolutely no reason why you should waste time, money or brain cells on this one.

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star

The Pitch: Everything you hate about Nick Swardson brought to its full cinematic form.

Why Avoid? In an act of cinematic terrorism, Happy Madison continues to dish out development deals to its friends. The fact that Adam Sandler co-wrote a film like this leads one to believe that anything he’s done in the past that turned out to be comedic gold must have been someone else’s idea. Spoiler: those previously good ideas did not come from either Allen Covert or Nick Swardson, two men who must have decided that the only way to follow-up the masturbatory stupid-a-thon Grandma’s Boy needed a bigger, glitzier, far dumber younger sibling. Thus, Bucky Larson was born and for all we know, the production killed several children and a football field full of puppies. Oh, you really wanted to know about all the Blu-ray extras — what’s on the BD-Live assortment? You know what. Go f**k yourself.

• America in Primetime (PBS)
• Bad Girls (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Belle de Jour (Criterion)
• Courageous (Sony)
• Division III: Football’s Finest (Image)
• First Squad: The Moment of Truth (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• The First Beautiful Thing (Palisades Tartan)
• Gantz II: Perfect Answer (Warner Brothers)
• The Josephine Baker Story (HBO)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth – 3D (New Line Cinema)
• License to Drive (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Project X (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Redline (Starz/Anchor Bay)
• Star Driver: Part 2 (Bandai)
• Sunrise Earth: Alaska (Discovery Channel)
• Thurgood (HBO)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (HBO)

What is Movie News After Dark? It is all about movie news, it happens nightly, and you should never, ever go to bed without it. Should you happen to do so, we’re most likely going to send someone out to teach you a lesson. And you don’t want to learn any hard lessons now, do you? We didn’t think so.

We begin tonight with an image that is sweeping the internet. With a little lightening, this new image of Noomi Rapace in Prometheus reveals a pair of Space Jockeys in the background. It’s hard to tell from this angle, but they look rather large and intimidating. It goes along with a quote writer/producer Damon Lindelof gave to Hero Complex: “The movie is definitely epic in its scope. One of the filmmakers that we ended up talking about to a fair degree of redundancy was David Lean, who directed ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’ We wanted to make the movie feel big by having the characters be small in big spaces. That connected to the larger themes we were talking about — that we’re all just these little gnats crawling around on our little planet.”

Did you watch the Golden Globes last night? If so, you may want to share with us your opinion on whether or not Ricky Gervais was too tame, as 24 Frames suggests in their analysis. He did really give it to Johnny Depp, either way. Also, there were Beaver jokes with Jodie Foster.

“It’s the most romantic film in the history of time. It’s a supernatural romance.” That’s Mad Men teacher/sexual object Abigail Spencer talking about Joss Whedon’s forthcoming film that will be shooting next month. Yes, that’s three films complete all in the time that he’s been working on The Avengers. As a man who has had more than a few projects get cancelled before their time, he has clearly taken the adage “strike while the iron is hot” to heart.

Fans of The League and neckties can rejoice together, as “Netflix for neckties” appears to be a real thing.

Tonight’s edition brings us two notable works of art. First, a new poster for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It’s very, very bad poster work:

On the other end of the spectrum is our friend Hector Pahaut, who has released his own version of a poster for Oscar contender The Help. It’s got color, verve and plenty of metaphor. Much better than the folks over at 20th Century Fox, to say the least:

Upon winning a Golden Globe for his performance in Luther, all press wanted to know from star Idris Elba was “will you be back for Thor 2?!” He will be back, he confirmed. Idris Elba is back for Thor 2. Now calm down and go watch Luther.

Denizens of suburban Washington, DC, prepare yourselves. The Alamo Drafthouse is moving into One Loudoun in Ashburn, VA. This means plenty of beer, special events and exhibitional brilliance the likes of which you can’t even imagine are headed your way. Seriously, start building up a tolerance for fried pickles now. It’s the only way you’ll survive.

Over at ModernMan.com, Matt Christensen writes thoroughly in his attempt to explain 11 memorable movie deaths. Ever wonder what would happen to Hans Gruber’s body as he hit the ground? It’s far more gruesome than you’d think.

Ever wonder how Hollywood keeps its fight scenes realistic without having its actors actually beat each other to a pulp? The Cage Doctors has a video explaining it all. Or most of it.

Film.com’s Eric D. Snider, a favorite read of yours truly, ponders why people Redbox the Movies they do. The likes of Just Go With It, No Strings Attached and I Am Number Four graced Redbox’s top ten rentals of 2011. Personally, I blame the government’s underfunding of the public schools system.

The Wackness and You’re Next producer Keith Calder uses his personal blog to muse about Killer Elite and the responsibility of producers when it comes to material “based on a true story.” It’s a fascinating read, one that shines a bit of light onto the inner-workings of the minds that produce the films we spend hour upon hour talking about.

It’s Monday, which means simply that the internet has given us the gift of yet another trailer mash-up of The Dark Knight Rises. This time it’s the audio of the TDKR trailer over video from Batman: The Animated Series. It’s eery how close they get it: